Maybe this is destiny
by DahliaRose83
Summary: As weird as it was to wake up to someone watching you, he had somehow gotten used to it by now. Alaric/Damon


I have to admit I never really thought about this pairing until very recently, when I stumbled upon a few fics. After reading "Temptation" by cyndrarae (which is a great story by the way) this idea got stuck in my head. So I finally decided to write it down. Was intended as a drabble, but got longer than I expected. Please let me know what you think.

Maybe this is destiny

A clash of thunder shattered the nightly silence, startling Alaric awake. He sat up, blinking into the darkness and flinched when his eyes came to rest on the lone figure sitting near the window. He sighed, tiredly rubbing at his eyes. As weird as it was to wake up to someone watching you, he had somehow gotten used to it by now.

The first time it had scared the hell out of him. Just like now he`d been startled awake to find someone sitting in the chair by the window, staring at him. Instinct had made him reach for the vervain darts he kept on his nightstand, until he noticed who the intruder was.

"Damon, what the hell are you doing in my bedroom?" he had asked, more than just a little annoyed. The vampire hadn`t answered. Had just kept on staring at him with those cerulean eyes, his expression unreadable. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" he`d tried again, this time actually eliciting a response. Namely a shrug and a muttered: "About 2 am."

Alaric couldn`t really remember what question had come next. It was either "Are you drunk?" or "What do you want?" The answer to both had been another shrug. Ric, by this time a little more awake, had concluded that Damon wasn`t drunk. At least not more than usual. He was just annoying.

"Since you`ve obviously forgotten why you`re here, why don`t you go and let me get some sleep? I`ll meet you tonight at the Grill." he had offered. Damon hadn`t answered. He`d just stared at him for a few more seconds and then left at vampire speed.

Alaric hadn`t thought much of the whole thing and therefore hadn`t mentioned it, when they did meet at the Grill that evening. Damon was just strange sometimes and maybe he had been drunk after all, the teacher had reasoned.

Until he awoke two nights later to find Damon sitting near the window again. Questioning him had been about as successful as the last time, so he`d finally given up and gone back to sleep with the vampire still sitting there.

From there on it had become some sort of weird routine. For the last two weeks Damon had appeared in his bedroom almost every night. Alaric figured he was feeling lonely, now that Stefan had left with Klaus. Sure, the Salvatore brothers were used to being apart, having spent the better part of the past few decades at each others throats. But when it came down to it they were always there for each other.

And now probably for the first time ever Damon had no idea where his brother was or what he was doing. And even though he`d never admit it, Alaric was sure Damon felt guilty. Everyone knew how much Stefan hated his Ripper-side, hated losing control over his blood lust. And now he did just that to save Damon`s life.

It was why Damon kept on searching for his wayward brother, even if he didn`t want to be found. Even if he killed Andi to prove his point. And it was why Alaric helped Damon with his search. Why he allowed the dark haired vampire to sit in his bedroom in the middle of the night, sometimes even scooting over to make room for him on the bed. Though Damon had only taken him up on that invitation once.

By morning he would be gone. Sometimes Alaric found him in the kitchen, making breakfast, annoying Elena and Jeremy. And he wouldn`t say anything. Because he understood him. Understood why he did it. The only thing he didn`t really understand was why Damon kept pestering him. Why he didn`t appear in Elena`s bedroom to watch her sleep, rather than Ric.

But he didn`t dare ask him, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. Not sure if he didn`t know it already and was just too much of a coward to admit it.

Thinking tonight wouldn`t be any different Alaric was just about to lie back down, when Damon suddenly spoke up. "Stormy night." The teacher gave him a surprised look. Usually he wasn`t very talkative during his nightly visits. "It is." he finally agreed, looking at Damon a little closer. He could practically feel those cerulean eyes on himself and had to suppress a shudder. Something was different about tonight, he realized. He just couldn`t tell yet what it was.

After a moment`s hesitation he scooted over and was a little shocked when Damon actually took him up on the unspoken offer, lying down on his back beside him. "We`ll find Stefan." Alaric broke the silence after a while. Damon was very still next to him. "Not sure if we should." he finally murmured back, surprising the teacher once more. "You want to give up?" he asked.

The vampire turned on his side so that they were facing each other. "I don`t know what I should do anymore." he whispered and Ric got the impression that he wasn`t really talking about Stefan anymore. "Just do what feels right." he suggested, his own voice dropping to a whisper as well.

He could see the change in Damon`s eyes. They seemed to get darker, his stare even more intense. He moved slowly, giving Ric time to react as he leaned closer, joining their lips and intensifying the kiss when he noticed that his friend wasn`t pushing him away. Alaric had no idea why he allowed it. Why he wasn`t even surprised.

Maybe this was bound to happen. He had come to Mystic Falls to hunt vampires. To hunt Damon. He had tried to kill him and ended up being killed by Damon instead, only to be brought back by his ring. He had learned that vampires weren`t the monsters he thought them to be. At least not all of them.

He and Damon had gone from being mortal enemies to grudging allies, partners in crime, drinking buddies, best friends. Maybe this was just the natural next step in their strange relationship. Maybe Damon would be gone come morning and they would never talk about tonight, shrugging it off as a one-time deal.

But maybe, just maybe it would be the start of something new. Something good. Alaric had always believed that certain things happened for a reason. And as Damon wrestled his shirt off him, bending down to place lavish kisses across his torso, he mused that maybe this was destiny.


End file.
